aida

Zen art infuences my work with Watercolor and INK. Watercolor has its origins in China.
Zen painting was already highly developed in the East before watercolor were brought to the West. Watercolor came to the West via the explorers who used watercolor pigments for mapmaking. I am not assimilated to Zen culture and have lived in the West all my life but I learn from Zen art like the Modernists who collected Japanese prints and adapted them to their work.

I engage the watermedia as it moves across the paper, drawing marks in INK and painting in watercolor with an economy of line and shape. Materials are important and I am attuned to nature. I draw with quills made from found bamboo, corn stalks, and sticks with sharp edges. I paint in both watercolor and INK with Sumi-e brushes. Color value and transparency in INK work are created with a limited palette. The process has helped me develop my voice even further.

Plein air watercolor painting is the foundation for all my artwork and I continue doing plein air in watercolor. My work is full of passion. When my work is going well, I feel an inner sense of peace and tranquility and a great sense of accomplishment. Art in general is a healthy celebration of life.